My Journey as Fourth Kazekage

"Kazekage-sama? You seem to recognize me, and I can tell you're skilled in puppetry techniques. Are you a ninja from Sunagakure? But why don't I remember you?"

In the dim world, Rasa's voice echoed slowly, reverberating through the dark underground chamber.

The Queen of Rōran turned her gaze toward the voice, her surprise evident.

From the shadows, a figure emerged—his presence strong and imposing. The man had short dusty red hair, exuding the aura of a fierce beast.

!!!

The Queen of Rōran stared at him in disbelief. She had never imagined there would be another man hiding here, especially one whom Mukade referred to as the Kazekage of Sunagakure.

As the Queen of Rōran, she was always well-informed about the outside world, so the presence of such a high-ranking figure in Rōran made no sense.

If the Queen of Rōran was simply shocked, Mukade's reaction was far more intense.

His eyes widened in terror as he stared at Rasa, stepping out of the shadows. His body instinctively began to retreat, taking two or three steps back. Only after a moment did he realize what was happening. It was like he was trying to compose himself, but his expression twisted into a snarl, his voice full of fury as he shouted.

"What's going on? Why are you here, Fourth Kazekage? Didn't you die?!"

"I... died? And the Fourth Kazekage—what are you talking about?"

Rasa couldn't help but feel proud of his performance. His acting was truly top-notch.

Mukade was clearly caught off guard. His realization hit him like a ton of bricks. His face darkened, his fists clenched, and he gritted his teeth as he muttered under his breath.

"Could it be that I was right? I didn't return to the past—I've ended up in another parallal world?!"

Rasa was taken aback by Mukade's words, a strange sense of disbelief flooding him.

A parallel world?

But this wasn't the time to dwell on such thoughts. Keeping up his act, Rasa furrowed his brow and pressed on.

"Your name is Mukade, right? How do you know Sunagakure's puppetry techniques? You'd better explain yourself, or else…"

By now, Mukade had figured it out.

No wonder some of the intel he'd gathered recently pointed to discrepancies in the Third Great Ninja War compared to what he'd recorded before. The Fourth Kazekage in front of him must be the Fourth Kazekage of this world's Sunagakure.

"Marvelous... truly marvelous!"

For reasons he couldn't quite explain, Mukade suddenly became exhilarated. His eyes glowed red with excitement, bloodshot and wild as he fixed his gaze on Rasa.

As his chakra surged, the puppets scattered throughout the Rōran Kingdom began to move toward their location.

Mukade sneered, his laughter dark and twisted.

"Although the Fourth Kazekage from my world is already dead, preventing me from getting my revenge, killing you here will be just as satisfying!"

A buzzing sound filled the air, like the swarm of locusts descending on a field.

From the high towers above, puppets began to swoop down in dense swarms, visible to the naked eye.

But Rasa, seemingly oblivious to the overwhelming number of puppets descending, remained unfazed. He calmly asked. 

"It seems like you really hate me."

Mukade, now completely consumed by rage, let out a roar, his fury palpable.

"Of course I hate you! As the Fourth Kazekage, you suppressed me, a genius puppeteer from Sunagakure, just to hand over the village's puppet army to your own son, Kankurō. And to make it worse, the Kazekage position, which should've been mine, was taken by your freak of a son, Gaara. Damn... damn!"

Mukade's arms flailed violently, as if trying to release all his pent-up rage.

"I'm not just going to kill you—I'll destroy Sunagakure in this world with the puppet army I created!"

His madness startled the Queen of Rōran, but she didn't have time to react before Mukade's eyes widened in shock.

Because, instead of fear, Rasa's gaze met him with something else—pity. It was the look one might give a mere insect.

"Kill me? Destroy Sunagakure? You talk a big game. But you're nothing but a tiny bug!"

"BUG!!!"

Mukade froze, his eyes widening in disbelief, unable to process Rasa's words. His body trembled with rage, veins bulging on his forehead.

"How dare you call me a bug?! I'll kill you—I swear I will!"

Mukade's hatred intensified, more than he'd ever felt for the Fourth Kazekage in his own world. The Kazekage before him was a mockery of the position he thought he should've had.

"Since that's the case, let me show you my most powerful puppetry technique!"

Boom!

In the blink of an eye, Mukade's body began to expand rapidly, his form distorting. Within moments, he had transformed into a massive insect with six legs, a human-like face, and thick armor covering his body. He hissed at Rasa, his voice dripping with malice.

"Are you afraid? Are you terrified? Surrender to my power!"

Yet, despite the monstrous transformation before him, Rasa remained unaffected. His cold, unwavering gaze locked onto Mukade.

"No matter how big the bug, it's still just a bug."

!!!

Mukade, now a giant insect, froze for a moment, disbelief flashing in his eyes. Then, his fury boiled over even further.

"Damn it!"

Mukade roared, his six legs thrashing wildly as he charged at Rasa with all his might.

But it was too late.

Boom!!

Before Mukade could even close the distance, six massive sand spears descended from the sky with explosive force, pinning Mukade's giant form to the ground.

"Magnet Release: Six Rounds Sand Prison!"

Mukade struggled, his massive body twitching in vain as he tried to free himself. His six legs flailed like a bug stuck to a board, but the sand spears held him fast.

"Curse you!!!"

He shouted, his anger reaching a new level.

Rasa frowned, his voice tinged with annoyance.

"Is that all? You think this level of power can dominate the ninja world?"

At Rasa's words, Mukade, fully transformed into a monstrous insect, felt his chakra surge wildly. Before anyone's eyes, the six sand spears pinning him down began to disintegrate.

"Is this...? Chakra absorption?"

That was right. Rasa could feel his chakra being absorbed by the sand spears, losing his grip on them. The puppet Mukade had created seemed to possess the ability to drain chakra.

This revelation intrigued Rasa as Mukade's puppetry techniques were more complex than he had imagined. As the Kazekage, Rasa had a vested interest in discovering any secret techniques that could potentially strengthen Sunagakure. What he saw next solidified his decision to capture Mukade alive.

Before his eyes, the puppet body impaled by Rasa's six sand spears began to regenerate at an alarming rate, healing itself as if nothing had happened.

"Not only that, but it also has rapid regeneration? Interesting!!!"

"Unforgivable, unforgivable!"

Mukade's voice shook with uncontrollable rage. The sight of Rasa looking at him with interest only served to fuel his fury even more. His two claws morphed into spinning blades, and with a furious howl, he charged forward.

"Oh!"

Rasa's eyes lit up once more, impressed by Mukade's movements.

But unfortunately for Mukade, his advance was short-lived. Before he could take more than a few steps…

"Stone of Sand!"

A massive stone, dense with high-density sand particles and shaped like a square, came crashing down from the sky. It fell with the weight and force of a small mountain.

Boom!!!

The sheer force of the stone was enough to crush Mukade's enormous insect-like body in an instant, scattering puppet parts across the ground.

While Mukade's puppet had the ability to absorb chakra, it couldn't withstand the overwhelming force of nature itself.

The Queen of Rōran, watching as Mukade's body was reduced to pieces, turned to Rasa with wide eyes. She stared at him in stunned amazement.

"Is Anrokuzan... no, Mukade... dead?"

She asked, disbelief coloring her voice.

"No..."

Rasa shook his head as he watched the swarming puppets still descending from the sky. He looked up thoughtfully.

"He's probably still alive. Fascinating. This ability is somewhat similar to the Sage Art of the Ryūchi Cave: The Reincarnation of the Non-living."

"Huh!?"

Before the Queen could fully process Rasa's words, she was suddenly enveloped in a golden sand aura that lifted her into the air. Rasa was similarly lifted, and as they ascended, countless puppets continued to rain down from above.

Mukade's shattered body, once obliterated by the giant stone, began to merge with the incoming puppets. His form grew larger and larger as the fusion continued, taking shape once again.

"It seems this place is no longer suitable as a battlefield. Let's head outside."

===

If you want to read in advance or simply support me, visit:

https://www.patr eon.com/OberonLA